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Apr 05, 2024 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

Allen Ginsberg, one of the key Beat Generation writers, managed to achieve the equivalence of rock-star status in the world of poetry. Material Wealth: Allen’s voice in poems and songs 1956-1996, offering a collection of poetry and songs spanning 40 years, serves as a soundtrack to the book Material Wealth: Mining the Personal Archive of Allen Ginsberg. With the 1994 4-CD set Holy Soul Jelly Roll: Songs & Poems 1949-1993 being long out of print, Material Wealth also provides a fresh portrait of Ginsberg.

On a previously unreleased 1984 track, the arresting “Hum Bom” is an energized recitation that sounds like Ginsberg firing up a protest rally, with backing from drummer Elvin Jones. 1981’s “Birdbrain” and “Prayer for John Sinclair” from 1971, both originally issued as 7-inch singles, employ widely different musical approaches. “The Ballad of the Skeletons” (featuring Paul McCartney, Philip Glass, and others) was released as a CD single in 1996, at a time when a MTV Unplugged appearance was discussed but sadly didn’t come to fruition before Ginsberg’s death the following year.

A particularly compelling excerpt from a 1983 reading of “Howl” prompted the inclusion of this presentation, and Ginsberg refers to “America” in a 1956 recording as “An unfinished poem, which I’ll finish sooner or later.” In a 1995 reading, an audience is taken to the “First Party at Ken Kesey’s With Hell’s Angels,” taken from a vivid depiction written in 1965. Throughout, Material Wealth reminds how powerful and intriguing Ginsberg’s writing can be, and how compelling he was in its delivery. (www.allenginsberg.org)

Author rating: 7.5/10